Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. He is best known for his novel Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel. Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid, and served as a soldier in the Spanish Navy. He was captured by Barbary pirates and spent five years in captivity in Algiers. After his release, he returned to Spain and wrote several plays and novels. Don Quixote, published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, is a satire of chivalric romances and is widely regarded as one of the greatest works of literature of all time. Cervantes also wrote several other novels, plays, and poems, and is considered one of the most influential writers in the Spanish language.